


And Together we could See the Stars

by PseudoPsychosis



Series: Thoschei oneshots [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Feels, Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Lovers, Happy(ish) ending, Reconciliation, They are both so stupid, and also very in love, like so stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25016662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PseudoPsychosis/pseuds/PseudoPsychosis
Summary: He stares at the sky, eyes filled with wistfulness as he smiles softly. Something inside her twists painfully as the memories flash before her eyes, back when they were just Theta and Koschei and everything was simpler, before all the lies and the pain and all the years of betrayal.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master, Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Series: Thoschei oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811443
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	And Together we could See the Stars

He grabs her wrist, spinning her around until she is face to face with him and she hates the way that, after all this time, after years of pain and betrayal he still has the ability to set her skin on fire with the lightest of touches. He stares down at her, eyes dark with some strange emotion she can't decipher as he lets go of her wrist, breaths warm on her skin. 

"Why are you here Doctor ?"

His words are barely audible as he turns away abruptly, leaning his arms against the gilded edge of the balcony.

"You know why I'm here, I'm here to stop whatever the Acraxians are doing and-"

"No, why are you here. With me. We both know you could just as easily do this without me so why are you still here ?"

"I could ask the same of you."

He refuses to look at her, staring out at the darkened sky as she continues, stepping towards him as she speaks.

"You could've left the minute you saw me. You don't care about the Acraxians, you don't care about whatever's going on here, you have no reason to be here but you still refuse to leave. Why ? What possible reason could you have for staying ?"

He stays silent, expression unreadable as she shifts, turning to look at him.

"You know perfectly well why I'm staying."

The poorly hidden bitterness in his words is evident as he turns to face her, eyes glittering with resentment.

"No. I don't. I don't know why you're here. I don't know what twisted game you are playing but I will stop you. I will not let you kill another innocent soul while I am here to prevent it. Not again."

He laughs, the sound dark and twisted as it rings between them, his gaze dropping to his hands as a tired smile plays on his lips.

"Is that what you think ? That I'm just playing another game that will end with the deaths of thousands ?"

"Yes."

She knows as well as he does that there is no point in disguising the facts with pointless sentimentality. But she can swear she sees hurt flash in his eyes before he covers it up with carefully composed impassiveness. 

"I'm not lying to you Doctor."

His voice is soft as he turns to her, eyes filled with a sincerity she knows will only serve to hurt her in the end. She pushes aside the surge of hope that rises from deep inside her, replacing it with irritation as she pushes herself away from the balcony.

"Then what are you doing here ? Why won't you leave me alone ? What could you possibly-"

"I'm here for you."

She pauses, throat going dry as her words die on her tongue, indignation fading as she turns away from him.

"What do you mean."

He comes up behind her, and she tenses, hearts pounding, his breath hot on her neck as he replies.

"I'm here because I don't want to lose you."

She closes her eyes, exhaling slowly as the knot in her stomach coils. She refuses to give into the hope that has sparked inside her, to believe him when she knows all that can come from it is pain. 

"Why now ?"

Confusion washes over his features as she turns to face him, eyes bright as she steps away from him.

"Wh-"

"Why now ? After everything why are you doing this to me now ? What is this some kind of sick torture, designed to make me-"

"No I-"

"Because I can’t do this again. Ok ? I will not do it. Is that what you want to hear ? I give up. You win. But this is one game I refuse to play."

Her voice shakes, breaths shallow as shame burns inside her.

"I'm not playing a game. I'm not lying. This is real."

She smiles bitterly, eyes meeting his as she shakes her head, tilting her head away.

"And how could I ever trust you."

He nods slightly, pain flashing in his eyes as he sighs, glancing towards the sky. She wants to reach out and cover his hand with her own, wants so desperately to trust him, to give into the hope that burns within her, to believe that he is anything but the tyrant that razed Gallifrey to the ground and that she is anything but the monstrosity foolish enough to believe he could change.

"You used to say we would go see the stars together. All those years ago when we were children, before it all went wrong, we would dream of travelling together, across the galaxies until we'd seen every single star there was to see."

He stares at the sky, eyes filled with wistfulness as he smiles softly. Something inside her twists painfully as the memories flash before her eyes, back when they were just Theta and Koschei and everything was simpler, before all the lies and the pain and all the years of betrayal.

"What does that have to do with anything ?"

Her breath catches as he turns to face her, eyes so full of emotion that it surprises her. He reaches forward, fingertips grazing the curve of her face as he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I don't want to keep doing this. Not anymore. I don't want to spend the rest of my life hating you as if it's the only way to get close to you."

"What other way is there ?" She breathes, blood roaring in her ears as she stares at him, watching as his eyes are lit up in the starlight. 

"I don't know. I have no idea. All I know is that I want to watch galaxies come to life with you. I want to watch planets come and go and civilisations grow and fade. I want to see it all and I want to see it with you because if all I am is darkness then you are the light that guides my way."

And then his lips are on hers and her restraint crumbles, her hands gripping his blazer, pulling him closer to her as his arms trail down her sides.

It is all too easy to forget the history between them and lose themselves in the false promise of absolution.


End file.
